Clean ’25: Exceeding Expectations

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Clean Show, presented by Texcare, is back on track.

Not only is North America’s largest textile care trade show back on its every other, odd-numbered year schedule, the 2025 edition staged at the Orange County Convention Center Aug. 23-26 bounced back from the previous years’ challenges in terms of exhibitors, attendees, educational sessions, and the overall mood of the industry.

Greg Jira, group show director for Messe Frankfurt Inc., says that Clean ’25 exceeded expectations in many ways.

“The attending number blew past our expectations,” he shares. “We don’t have the official numbers in yet. We have to verify them, but right now, we have surpassed the visitor attendance of both 2019 and 2022 (around 11,000 each).

“We felt that we were going to come somewhere in between 2019 and 2022, but the industry was hungry. They wanted to come back. They wanted to get back together and meet.”

Exhibitor numbers bounced back from 350 in New Orleans in 2022 to 434 product and services providers on the floor in Orlando, around the number of exhibitors that were in Las Vegas in 2019.

“We had a record number of international companies, 88, and a record number of what we call first-timers,” shares Jira. “That would be anyone that has never exhibited at a Clean Show or has not exhibited at a Clean Show prior to 2015.

“There were new companies from water treatment plants and things like that, more diverse companies.”

Cecil Lee, general manager of Metropolitan Detroit Area Hospital Services, was impressed by the show floor at the Orange County Convention Center.

“It's big. The floor is large,” he says. “Obviously, the machinery companies have large footprints, and all the outside walls, and the size and everything else in between, that's pretty full, too. The smaller companies have their presence.

“I was impressed with how many people are part of it.”

“We're hoping to see new equipment, see what new technologies are out there,” says Theresa Garcia, COO of Division Laundry in San Antonio, during the event. “And there are a lot of new technologies out there. Things have been changing so much with AI (artificial intelligence). You look to see who's utilizing AI or who’s utilizing robotics.”

Jira shared this fun fact for Clean ’25: It was a record year for tonnage at the show.

“We were over 10 million tons of equipment that went through the docks,” he says. "That’s a record for the show for as long as we have records for it.”

“(Our attendee interactions) have been great. I think everyone is good,” shares Benjamin Jones, director of operations and sales in North America for equipment manufacturer CLM Group. “The booths are great. It's nice that it's in a space that's fitted. I’ve been to other Clean Shows where there's open space. I think it's got a good vibe.

“There was a time when people were shifting from showing a lot of machines, but I think that's shifting back to show the machines because you have to see it. I mean, the machines should speak for themselves.”

Several exhibitors took time on the floor to honor and celebrate their customers. Lavatec Laundry Technology, an equipment manufacturer with U.S. headquarters in Beacon Falls, Conn., launched its inaugural customer Hall of Fame in Orlando. Seven customers were honored, including Division Laundry, Metropolitan Detroit Area Hospital Services, Cintas, St. Francis Hospital, Bay State Laundry, Portland Hospital Services Corp., and Vinny Samuel/JVK Operations.

President Mark Thrasher says Lavatec intends to honor Hall of Fame customers at future Clean Shows.

Several exhibitors scheduled customer appreciation events after show hours at entertainment venues around Orlando.

Education sessions at The Clean Show were also in high demand. Messe Frankfurt’s partner associations — Association for Linen Management (ALM), Coin Laundry Association (CLA), Drycleaning & Laundry Institute International (DLI), Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA), and TRSA, the association for linen, uniform and facility services — presented almost 30 sessions. Topics ranged from the economy to laundry growth, from maintenance to technological updates.

“Our meeting rooms were full to capacity,” says Jira. “Each one of them, each day, was filled. Our show floor classroom was filled to capacity with people sitting on the floor.”

“(The Clean Show experience) is also attending some of the sessions that some of the other organizations have during the mornings,” shares Garcia. “It’s getting to interact with that.

“It’s also getting to see other people from the industry that are operators as well and talking with them, seeing how business is going for everybody.”

The Clean Show 2025 created many opportunities to connect, collaborate and unwind. Attendees mingled with peers and made new business connections at the daily Happy Hour bars located across the show floor.

Messe Frankfurt organized a new program at Clean ’25: the Innovation Awards. It was launched to provide exhibiting companies opportunities to gain recognition for their innovations.

Jira says the awards — in terms of both applications and reception — exceeded expectations as well.

“We were expecting maybe 30 applications to come in, but we had over 70,” he shares. “That went over very well. That also was standing room only when we announced the four winners.”

Winners of the inaugural Clean Show Innovations Awards were:

New Application — Laundroworks, Powered by Cents, for WashLynx Mobile App.
New Product — LaundryLux for The Tosei by Electrolux Combo Washer/Dryer.
New Technology for Sustainability — Ecolab Textile Care for 3D TRASAR™ Technology for Effluent.
New Technology for Automation — Shanghai Huayuan Electronic (TEX-BIT) for TEX-BIT AI RFID Digital Textile SaaS Platform.

Honorable mentions went to:

New Application — Zucchetti Centro Sistemi for Titan 900 Scrubs Dispenser with Ozone Sanitization.
New Product — DEMA Engineering Company for Aurora Plus.
New Technology for Sustainability — Hybridworks Textile Solutions for Patented Rotating Hydrolysis Reactor.
New Technology for Automation — Girbau/Continental Strategic Laundry Solutions for Sortech – Automated Sorting Solution.

Watch for expanded coverage of the Orlando event in the November issue of American Laundry News.

Las Vegas will host the next Clean Show on July 15-18, 2027.